Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. has been checked into the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. for depression and gastrointestinal issues, according to a statement released by the clinic. (Source: WGN - Chicago)

Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. has been checked into the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. for depression and gastrointestinal issues, according to a statement released by the clinic. (Source: WGN - Chicago)

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota “for extensive inpatient evaluation for depression and gastrointestinal issues,” according to a statement from Jackson sent late Friday by Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo.

Friday’s statement offers the most specific description yet of Jackson’s condition. When Jackson’s office first announced his medical leave two weeks after it began, it said the 17-year congressman was being treated for exhaustion.

Then on July 11, amid increasing calls for further disclosure, Jackson’s office issued a statement saying he was being treated for a “mood disorder” at an inpatient center, but again declined to be more specific. His staff cited federal medical privacy rules and declined to disclose any further information about where he was being treated, or for what, other than to deny that he was being treated for acohol or drug abuse.

Jackson, 47, is under a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations that a longtime friend, Raghuveer Nayak, offered former Gov. Rod Blagojevich up to $6 million in campaign cash to appoint Jackson to President Barack Obama’s seat in the U.S. Senate.

Nayak was arrested in June on federal fraud charges involving his surgical centers.

Jackson has denied any knowledge of fundraising in exchange for the appointment.

The full text of the statement, which was confirmed by a Mayor Clinic spokeswoman:

"CongressmanJesse Jackson Jr. has arrived at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for extensive inpatient evaluation for depression and gastrointestinal issues.

"Further information will be released as Congressman Jackson's evaluation proceeds.

"Congressman Jackson and his family are grateful for the outpouring of support and prayers that have been received throughout his care.

As his wife Sandi Jackson watches, U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. speaks with a group of about 50 ministers and other religious leaders who gave their support for his re-election. Jackson is currently being treated at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Jesse Jackson Jr. was elected to Congress in 1995. Sandi Jackson was a Chicago alderman until she resigned her post in January 2013. On Feb. 15, 2013, federal prosecutors charged the couple, alleging he misused $750,000 in campaign funds and she understated their income on tax returns for six years.

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